Details

General

Description and behaviour

This is the negation affix, used to express the equivalent of English 'not'. It is a very common affix; partly also because several common Greenlandic verbal stems have an inherently negative meaning, so the only way to express the positive/opposite meaning is by negating the stem. Some examples of these stems include:

• {ajuq}V, Actor is bad
• {nalu}V, Agent knows not Patient
• {sapiq}V, Agent is unable/powerless to do Patient.

Thus, for example, to express that something is good, it is necessary to negate the meaning of {ajuq}V, and to express e.g. that I know someone/something, it is necessary to negate the meaning of {nalu}V. In both cases, this is done with the use of the negation affix (or the negative contemporative mood).

Note also that V{ŋŋit}V may appear twice in the same stem. In the case of such a double negation, the meaning of the stem may be emphasised, i.e.

• it is not the case that not Vb ⇒ definitely Vb.

Lastly, note that negative questions are answered according to the truth value of the whole statement, i.e.:

• Sinippa?, 'is he asleep?' (positive question)

• Aap, sinippoq, 'yes he is asleep' (positive reply, affirmative)

• Naamik, sininngilaq, 'no, he is not asleep' (negative reply).

• Sininngila?, 'is he not asleep?' (negative question)

• Naamik, sinippoq, 'yes he is asleep' (literally: 'no, he is asleep')

• Aap, sininngilaq, 'no, he is not asleep' (literally: 'yes, he is not asleep').

This is the opposite of what one would do in English, where you reply to the intention behind the question, rather than to the literal truth value of the statement. However, the Greenlandic way of replying to negative questions is arguably more logical:

• If sininngilaq is true, then reply aap to the question sininngila?.
• If sininngilaq is false, then reply naamik to the question sininngila?.

This affix is a t-stem, so with intransitive participial and participle /t/ is not assimilated; i.e. /tð/ ⇒ [tc] ⇒ 'ts', thus yielding -nngitsoq, -nngitsunga etc.

However, it also has a true /i/, which therefore may assibilate a (single), following /t/. This happens in particular with the passive participle V{-ðaq}N, since its own idiosyncratic left-sandhi behaviour precisely results in a single /t/ before /i/. Thus we get:

• V{ŋŋit}V{-ðaq}N ⇒ /ŋŋitaq/ ⇒ /ŋŋisaq/ ⇒ -nngisaq

This affix takes a completely idiosyncratic set of endings in some of the moods, if (and only if!) it is the last affix before the ending (see the AITWG p. 183). The changes are:

• Indicative: Use {-la}, with deletion of /t/, instead of {vu} and {va}. /l/ geminates to /ll/ in intransitive indicative 3.pl (similar to how /v/ geminates to /vv/ there), i.e. -nngillat.
• Interrogative: Use {-li} and {-la}, with deletion of /t/, instead of {vi} and {va}. Note that in intransitive interrogative, all endings are similar to the intransitive indicative, except 3.sg, which here is V{-la}, i.e. -nngila?.
• Causative: Use {na} instead of {ga}, i.e. -nnginnama etc. However, the 3rd person mood marker {(m)m} is unaltered, so e.g. -nngimmat as usual.
• Contemporative: Does not exist, use negative contemporative (without V{ŋŋit}V) instead.
• Imperative: Does not exist, use negative contemporative instead.
• Optative: Does not exist, add V{gi}V after V{ŋŋit}V to use negation; i.e. -nngikkili! etc.
• Participial: In intransitive participial, the regular mood marker {ðu} is used, but as this is a t-stem, /tð/ do not fully assimilate, yielding [tc] instead, which is spelt 'ts'.

Here is a table, showing the full set of intransitive endings for this affix. Only the iterative (ITE) and conditional (COND) moods are unaffected:

Meanings and examples

References

• [4] C.W. Schultz-Lorentzen (1958): Den Grønlandske Ordbog.
• [8] Christian Berthelsen, Birgitte Jakobsen, Robert Petersen, Inge Kleivan & Jørgen Rischel (1997): Oqaatsit.